Dutch Business Confidence Remains Subdued

The Netherlands’ business confidence indicator edged up to -4.9 in July 2025, from a one-and-a-half-year low of -5.0 in June. Despite the modest uptick, the figure remained well below its 20-year average of -1.3. Manufacturers became more optimistic about expected production over the next three months (4 vs 2.3 in June). However, their assessments of finished goods inventories (-7.3 vs -6.3) and order books (-11.4 vs -11.1) deteriorated further. Producer confidence remained negative across nearly all sectors. Only manufacturers in the wood and building materials industry reported a positive outlook in July, while those in the metal industry were the most pessimistic.